This early heat wave – if it was this much warmer than normal during the summer, that’s surely what it would be called – has resulted in early flowering of almost everything, including some plants that shouldn’t even be flowering until late April.  As well, most trees have started leafing out and the hardwood portions of the local forests have started turning green.

The following video from our yard  captures just a small part of this strange season in Arkansas.  For this video, I didn’t add any music, just natural back ground sounds from our yard.

How are the seasons progressing where you are?

Our three night stay at Arches National Park was in the Devils Garden Campground. Eighteen miles from the park entrance, the campground is located in the middle of red sandstone fins, boulders and rocky hills, Utah juniper and pinion pines, yucca and prickly pear cacti.  The La Sal mountains can be seen in the distance. There are also a few arches nearby. One of them, Skyline Arch, was only a short walk and climb from our campsite, though climbing up into the arch itself was a bit of a stretch.

The nearest town, Moab, is 23 miles away, so there is very little light to pollute the night sky, making the campground a great place to view  the wonders of the night sky.

Like most U.S. national park campgrounds, Devils Garden has no hookups for water, electricity, or sewer.  Facilities do include potable water, picnic tables, and grills, but there are no showers.  There are 50 sites that can be reserved between March 1 and October 31.  This is a very popular campground and, for anyone who would like to camp here,  I would recommend making reservations.

Selected Information Resources:

Arches National Park.

• National Park Service
• Wikipedia
• Wikitravel
• Discover Moab
• GORP
• The American Southwest

Our first hike of our 2011 visit to Arches National Park was the 3.0 mile (4.8 km) round-trip trek to Delicate Arch on September 21.  We had done this hike almost exactly 4 years before, so we knew what we were getting into.

The trail begins at the parking lot adjacent to the old Wolfe Ranch cabin.  A side trail near the cabin leads to some petroglyphs.

The Delicate Arch trail has very little shade.  Most of the trail is over open “slickrock” sandstone – a term given by early settlers because of the difficulty of their horses’ metal shoes getting traction on the sloping surfaces of the rock. There is some exposure to heights.  The trail can be a brutal hike during the summer, when temperatures can exceed 100°F (37.7°C).  The park service recommends at least a quart of water per person on this trail. Across the rock, the trail is marked by rock cairns.

We had planned the southwestern part of our trip for late September into October to take advantage of cooler weather.  The high temperature for our hike was probably in the low 70s.

The trail to Delicate Arch is a nice hike and I heartily recommend it for a spring or autumn hike, or  even an early summer morning hike provided you’re off the rock before the extreme heat of the day.

Selected Information Resources:

Arches National Park.

• National Park Service
• Wikipedia
• Wikitravel
• Discover Moab
• GORP
• The American Southwest

The weather was much different.  It had been a colder winter overall and, on February 9, 2011, we had our second snow in a week – and it was a very respectable snowfall.

This year, our warmer-than-normal winter has returned to seasonal temperatures, but we’ve not had any snow or ice since sometime in November or December, and that wasn’t much.

How is the winter trending in your neck of the woods?

Overall, for us, this winter has been crazily mild.  While, we did have one spell in December that was cold enough to brown much of the ground vegetation that normally stays green in this part of the country, it has been much warmer than normal for most of the season.

Still, it’s not normal to have daffodils in January, but we have the first blossom of the year – and the forecast is for temperatures above 60°F (15.5°C) for the week ahead.

So is winter over?  Where is all the cold weather? Is this global warming?

Winter’s probably not over here.  Typically, our snowiest month is February, followed by March, and we’ve even had snow in April, though some years we don’t get any snow at all. Last year, on February 9th, we had nearly a foot, and that was the second snow of the week.

On the other hand, spring-like conditions in early February 2008 led to a tornado outbreak that killed 13 in Arkansas (55 in southern US) with widespread damage and power outages.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see more big storms or winter weather in the next month, this year.

While it’s been unusually warm here,the reverse is true in other places.  Alaska has seen some brutally cold weather, worse than normal, and very heavy snow in places.  Sea ice in the Bering Sea is moving south much earlier than normal – and it’s moving fast, threatening to halt the snow-crap harvesting at the peak of the season.  Very cold temperatures and strong winds are pushing the ice south at 10 to 15 miles a day, 5 times the normal rate, threatening $8 million worth of crap pots and other gear already in the water.

In my view, our warmer weather and the colder weather in Alaska are just regional climate variations, not global warming or cooling, not a direct manifestation of climate change, though change is coming – it always is.

Globally,  temperatures have been relatively stable over the last decade.

While warming alarmists tout the decade as the warmest on record, “relatively stable” for more than 10 years isn’t warming.

As I’ve said in previous posts, my view is that we are on the verge of a significant drop in global temperature.  When it starts, if it starts, is anyone’s guess.  The loss of heat may have already begun in the waters of the world, without yet being felt in the weather.

One ominous prediction, though, says that the coming cold may move the geographical center of the corn producing region of North America from Iowa south into Kansas.

I’d rather have global warming.

What has the weather been like recently for you?

This was our second time on this trail segment, which runs from the Bear Lake parking area to Emerald Lake and connects with other Bear Lake area trails.  We had hoped to make it to Emerald Lake if our legs, and the weather, held out.  The weather had been iffy overnight and during the morning.  Trail Ridge Road had been closed closed the night before and remained closed due to snow for the first time in the season. With rain threatening, instead of a hike that morning, we went into Estes Park.  After lunch and walking around Estes Park town center a bit more, we headed back into the park to the Bear Lake area trailhead.

The trail we chose goes to a trio of subalpine lakes – Nymph, Dream, and Emerald – in upper Tyndall Gorge.  The trail is well maintained and rises steadily over most of it’s 1.8 mile  length.  Difficulty is easy to moderate, but can be more difficult for those not acclimatized to the altitude as it climbs to over 10,000 feet.  We had already been in Colorado a week, so the altitude was less of an issue than it might have been otherwise.

From the Bear Lake area trails parking lot (9,475 ft.), the trail climbs steady for 1/2 mile, then levels off at about 9, 700 feet at the south end of  small, lily pad covered Nymph Lake.  The trail begins climbing again in the forest on the north end of Nymph Lake and levels off again at Dream Lake, 1.1 miles from the trail head and at an elevation of 9,912′ ft.  Dream Lake is .35 miles long.  The trail passes along its west shore.

We had hoped to make it all the way to Emerald Lake, 1.8 miles from the trailhead and 10,090 feet above sea level, but we turned back at the north end of Dream Lake due to deteriorating weather conditions.  Weather in the high country can be unpredictable, even in the middle of summer, but this was the middle of September and we’d already had some rain on our hike.  We had rain gear with us. However, it was already 3:30 PM and light rain was falling again, so we decided against pushing on ahead.

Selected Information
Resources:

Rocky Mountain National Park

• National Park Service– Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Suggested Hikes
  • Conditions and Closures
• Wikitravel
• Wikipedia

Estes Park

• Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Town of Estes Park
• Wikipedia
• Wikitravel
• Trail Gazette (newspaper)
• Stanley Hotel

Grand Lake

• Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce
• Wikipedia (the lake)
• Wikipedia (the town)
• Town of Grand Lake

Rocky Mountain National Park’s Trail Ridge Road (Wikipedia) crosses the park from Estes Park on the east to Grand Lake on the west. It is a segment of U.S. Highway 34 and is the highest continuous highway in the United States.  Crossing the Continental Divide at Milner Pass ((elev. 10,758 ft/3,279 m), it reaches its highest point at 12,183 ft (3,713 m), near Fall River Pass.

On this visit, the day we crossed on Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake and back started out cool, with precipitation predicted.  We ran into a little rain and quite a bit of fog, some of which rolled in when we were on the Tundra Communities Trail, which climbs a couple hundred feet, starting at about 12, 100 ft. elevation.

On the way back to the campground, we stopped at the gift shop next to Alpine Visitor Center – at Fall Creek Pass – at a little after 3 PM to take a break from the fog and get a cup of coffee. However, the gift shop was closed, as was the visitor center.  The temperature had dropped from the mid 50s when we were there earlier in the day to 35°F.

About three hours after we made it back to the camper, the park service closed the road.

Selected Information
Resources:

Rocky Mountain National Park

• National Park Service– Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Suggested Hikes
  • Conditions and Closures
• Wikitravel
• Wikipedia

Estes Park

• Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Town of Estes Park
• Wikipedia
• Wikitravel
• Trail Gazette (newspaper)
• Stanley Hotel

Grand Lake

• Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce
• Wikipedia (the lake)
• Wikipedia (the town)
• Town of Grand Lake

See more comics from Calamities of Nature

On September 10, we headed out to drive to the top of Pikes Peak from Garden of the Gods Campground in Colorado Springs, a driving distance of about 25.6 miles, with an elevation change of almost 8000 feet.

We had attempted to drive to the top in 2004, but were stopped at Glen Cove Inn, at 11, 425 feet, due to high winds higher up.  We were told that the winds will likely lessen later.  After waiting a while, we went back down and, later, decided to try to go up on the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway.  When we got to the top, we found that it was brisk and chilly at 34°F with great views, and the wind was low enough that there were already cars in the parking lot.  The ride on the railway was a great experience, though.

On this year’s trip, the wind was not a problem.  With stops, we made it to the top in around 2 hours.

The road has recently been improved significantly as a settlement of a Sierra Club lawsuit. (A lot of the online references say that the road is not paved on the upper half.   This is old information.)  Except for a section less than a mile long, the road is paved all the way to the top.  The road is on federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service, but is leased to the City of Colorado Springs for operation.  The toll is used to maintain and improve the road, thus requiring no general tax revenue for the road.

Note:  The images and video segments are sequenced from the bottom of the mountain to the top, but most of them were actually taken at pullouts on the way back down.

Pikes Peak is about 10 miles west of Colorado Spring, Colorado.  It was originally called “El Capitan” by Spanish settlers, but was renamed after Zebulon Pike, Jr., an explorer who led an expedition to the area in 1806.  It is one of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners, mountains rising over 14,000 above sea level.

Information and Resources:

• Wikipedia
• Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway
• Aramark
• Pikes Peak Country Attractions

Several years ago, I did quite a bit of research on a National Historic Site I had never visited, Bent’s Old Fort, just north of the Arkansas River in Southeastern Colorado, near La Junta.  It was one of the places I wanted to see on this trip and we visited the fort September 7th, 2011, a breezy and chilly morning.

It was very, very interesting, exceeding all of what I remembered of that long ago research.

The fort is actually a reconstruction based on drawings by Lt. James Abert in 1846.

It’s amazing to think that this location was actually on the border between the United States and Mexico back then.

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site was the first place I selected for an online travel project that never came to full fruition.  The material that I developed from that research is included below, along with a few photos from our visit.

William Bent, Charles Bent and Ceran St. Vrain were among the earliest western fur traders and, in the 1820’s, began to engage in the Mexican and Indian trade.  There were five Bent brothers. For thirty years their name was almost synonymous with the fur trade of Colorado.

In 1831 or 1832 Charles Bent and St. Vrain formed a partnership, which in time became Bent, St. Vrain, and Co., and entered the Santa Fe trade. In the late 1820′s or early 1830′sWilliam Bent, who had apparently been trading independently, erected a large adobe fort on the north bank of the Arkansas River, 12 miles west of the mouth of the Purgatoire. At first named Fort William, it was also known as Bent’s Fort and finally as Bent’s Old Fort after it was partially destroyed and a new fort was built elsewhere. Elaborately constructed, it was eventually a massive adobe structure of quadrangular shape having 24 rooms lining the walls, supported by poles. Two 30-foot cylindrical bastions, equipped with cannon, flanked the southwest and northeast corners. The walls were 15 feet high and 2 feet thick and extended 4 feet above the building roofs to serve as a banquette and were pierced with loopholes. On the south side was a cattle yard, enclosed by a high wall. A self-sufficient institution, the fort was operated by about 60 persons of many nationalities and vocations, including blacksmiths, trappers and traders, carpenters, mechanics, wheelwrights, gunsmiths, cooks, cattle herders, hunters, clerks, teamsters, and laborers.

Bent’s Fort became the center of the Bent, St. Vrain Company’s trading empire which reached from Fort St. Vrain in the north to Fort Adobe in the south. The company also had stores at Taos and Santa Fe in what was then Mexico. A primary trade was for buffalo hides with the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Arikara, Comanche, Kiowa, Shoshone and Sioux Indians. Constructed of adobe due to the scarcity of lumber, for most of its 16 years, it was the only permanent white settlement between Missouri and the Mexican settlements.  For explorers, adventurers and the U.S. Army, the fort provided supplies, livestock, company and a place for protection in what was known as the Great American Desert.

In 1846 the U.S. Army decided to use their post as a staging base for the conquest of New Mexico. That summer Gen. Stephen W. Kearny and his Army of the West, consisting of about 1,650 dragoons and Missouri Volunteers-from Fort Leavenworth, Kans., followed by some 300 to 400 wagons of Santa Fe traders, rested at the fort before proceeding to occupy New Mexico.

When Kearny departed, Government wagon trains congregated in ever-increasing numbers. Horses and mules overgrazed nearby pastures. Quartermaster stores piled up at the fort, and soldiers, teamsters, and artisans in Government employ occupied the rooms. Not only did the Government fail to compensate the company adequately, but trade also suffered because the Indians were reluctant to come near when so many whites were present. Following the soldiers into New Mexico were scores of settlers, gold seekers, and other adventurers who slaughtered the buffalo, fouled the watering places, destroyed scarce forage, and used up precious wood. The company was caught between the millstones of resentful Indians and invading whites.

Several other factors accelerated the company’s demise. In 1847 Charles Bent, who the year before had been appointed the first Governor of New Mexico Territory, was assassinated by Taos Indians during a revolt. The following year St. Vrain sold his interest in the company to William Bent. The final blow was a cholera epidemic, which in 1849 spread from emigrant wagons and decimated the Plains tribes. That same year the disillusioned William Bent abandoned the fort, moved 38 miles down the Arkansas, and founded Bent’s New Fort in an ill-fated attempt to restore his trading business.

Bent may have partially blown up and burned Bent’s Old Fort at the time he departed. By 1861, at the end of more than a decade of disuse, the fort’s rehabilitated walls sheltered a stage station on the Barlow and Sanderson route between Kansas City and Santa Fe. When the railroads replaced stagecoaches, the buildings served as cattle corrals and gradually collapsed and disintegrated. Yet as late as 1915 parts of the old walls were still standing.

Early in the 1950′s the State Historical Society of Colorado acquired Bent’s Old Fort from the Colorado chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The society arranged with Trinidad (Colo.) State Junior College to perform the initial archeological investigation and determine the fort’s general outlines. The society then erected a low wall, about 3 to 4 feet high, delineating them.

In 1960, Congress established the fort as a national historic site. After the National Park Service activated Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site in 1963, it tore down the wall and completed comprehensive archeological excavations. Archeological excavations, original sketches and paintings, and diaries were the bases for the fort’s reconstruction in 1976.

Nearby Camping:

• Hasty Lake-Ordway
• John Martin Reservoir-Lamar
• KOA-La Junta

In internet researching for my web pages on Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, I discovered over 70 mentions of the old fort and the new fort in old documents available on-line.  In nine of them, I found more detailed information:

Harper New Monthly Magazine, Editor’s Drawer[1]

In “old times,” said Colonel Saint Vrain to me when I last saw him at the little New Mexican pueblito of Morn, “the Indians came to the posts when they had any trading to do; camped near by, and did their trading; settled little disputes among themselves; had pony- races with the mountaineers that had come in with pelts, and a sort of good time generally. If you could have seen the old trading post that stood where Bent’s Old Fort now stands, on one of these trading visits, you would have seen a sight worth remembering. We did not let many Indians into the fort at a time, and those who were in had to exhibit good behavior or none at all. There have been more than forty thousand robes sent out from that post as the result of one year’s work. There was money in the trade then, but now— Well, there’s but few of the traders who go out to the villages with an outfit but what might have found quite as good employment for themselves in some other line of business.”

Life of Kit Carson…[2]

We left Carson at Robideau Fort, tired of the pursuit of trapping, as soon as it had become unprofitable, and while there, he arranged with three or four other trappers, to come down to Bent’s Fort. The trip was like others made at this season, through a country where the rifle would supply food for the party, and arriving at Bent’s Fort, where his name was already well-known, Carson could not long be idle. He engaged himself to Messrs. Bent and St. Vrain, as hunter to the fort, preferring this by far to the idea of seeking employment nearer civilized life. Indeed no situation could have pleased him better, if we may judge from the fact that he continued in it for eight years, and until the connection with his employers was broken by the death of one of the partners, Col. Bent. Gov. Bent, since appointed to the office of chief magistrate of New Mexico, by the United States Government, had been killed by Mex can Indians, and was universally mourned by Americans and Indians wherever he was known. Mr. St. Vrain, the other partner, was active during the Mexican war, since the date of which we write, still lives, and is esteemed as a father, by many an early mountaineer. Carson owed him gratitude for kindly sympathy and words of counsel, when yet a youth he was commencing his mountain life, and Dr, Peters, the first biographer of Kit Carson, dedicates his book to Col. St. Vrain, asserting that he was the first to discover and direct Carson’s talents to the path in which they were employed. For both of these gentlemanly proprietors, Carson cherished a warm friendship, nor was there ever an unpleasant occurrence between them.

The life of Col. John Charles Fremont….[3]

On the 1st of July [1844] we arrived at Bent’s fort, about 70 miles below the mouth of the Fontaine-qui-bouit. As we emerged into view from the groves on the river, we were saluted with a display of the national flag, and repeated discharges from the guns of the fort, where we were received by Mr. George Bent with a cordial welcome and a friendly hospitality, in the enjoyment of which we spent several very agreeable days. We were now in the region where our mountaineers were accustomed to live; and all the dangers and difficulties of the road being considered past, four of them, including Carson and Walker, remained at the fort.

Scenes beyond the Western Border[4]

July 29th. [1845]-A pleasant day, with a cool breeze, which made all comfortable. As we passed on this morning, we saw a half mile to our right, near the river bank, a small party with a wagon, moving westward: — whereupon it was visited, some barrels of alcohol destroyed—me n and wagon seized and brought with us.

Over a smooth, gravelly, second bank prairie, we caught sight, at several miles distance, of the national flag, floating amid picturesque foliage and river scenery, over a low dark wall, which had a very military semblance. Very gradually and tediously we approached; and then were we more surprised at the fine appearance and strength of the trading fort. An extensive square, with high adobe walls, and two large towers—at opposite angles; and all properly loop-holed. Our near approach was saluted by three discharges from a swivel gun; the walls being well “manned.” The Colonel and suite were most hospitally greeted at the sally port, by Messrs St. Vrain and C. Brent. The regiment marched on, and en camped at the first grassy meadow, a mile or lower down

Amongst a few luxuries which we here attain, are several newspapers, of later date by some weeks than we have seen.  The commissary reports the provisions in perfect preservation—especially the hard bread; ‘tis a pity there is no flour.  We arrived with rations for a single day.

This afternoon a party of a dozen Mexicans passed our camp, being questioned, and allowed to proceed; they have a trading venture, for the Chians. The majority of the hands at the fort are Mexicans; and the Spanish the prevailing language; but with English, French and Indian additions and combinations, there is no slight confusion of tongues.

There has been quite a lively exchange of broken down horses for ponies and mules; and very much, ” unsight, unseen,” a horse was a horse, if he could stand up; a pony was only expected to go. Two young antelopes were presented to an officer, who then purchased a mule and cart for their conveyance.

Here we lose sight of Pike mountain, after journeying rapidly in view for nine days. It is said to be visible from some river bluff, 80 or 90 miles further on. We have found it about 400 miles from Fort Laramie, and the route we have followed is the best natural road we have yet seen. There is nothing to prevent a light carriage from passing it, twelve miles to the hour; and this so near the mountains, and in view of perpetual snow!

The Mexican war: a history of its origin, and ….[5]

[1846] The point of departure [of Kearney’s troops] was Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri river, and the point to be reached (Santa Fe) was one thousand miles distant. For a greater part of that distance, from the Missouri to Bent’s Fort on the Arkansas, the road lay over vast plains, which had for ages been the pasturage of the buffalo, or the hunting-ground of the Indian. Short dry grass, or sometimes barren ground, with skirts of trees in the valleys of the streams, made nearly the whole landscape; while occasionally a buffalo in the distance, a prairie-wolf in the trail, or the carcass of some unfortunate horse given to the wild birds or wilder beasts, gave variety to this desolate scene. Bent’s Fort, the lonely plantation of Mr. Bonny, and the meeting of a party of traders, were the only signs of civilization.

History of the United States of America, from the discovery to the present time.[6]

On the 2d of September [1846], George Bent, known as the proprietor of Bent’s Fort, was appointed civil governor of New Mexico….

Incidents of travel and adventure in the far West: with Col Fremont’s last expedition ….[7]

p. 73—Bent’s house [not the fort] is a trading post. Indians of the different tribes bring in their venison, buffalo meat, skins, and robes, which are exchanged for various descriptions of manufactured goods. Mr. Bent also receives the annual appropriation from Government, for the neighboring tribes of Indians which are distributed at this point. Bent’s Fort, which is situated about thirty miles further up the Arkansas, was recently destroyed by the Indians, and has not been rebuilt, from the scarcity of timber in its vicinity. All the material saved from the fort, was removed to Mr. Bent’s house, on Big Timber.

p.75:—WE travelled up the Arkansas, and passing the ruins, of Bent’s Fort on the opposite side of the river, struck the mouth of the Huerfano; we followed that river to the Huerfano Valley-which is by far the most romantic and beautiful country I ever beheld.

California and Mexico, Message from The President of the United States to Congress [8]

Letter from Indian Agent James C. Calhoun

INDIAN AGENCY, SANTA FE,

October 5, 1849:

Sir: Since my letter of yesterday’s date, I regret to say rumors of Indian troubles have increased, and received some confirmation by the murder of a Mexican within three miles of this place. The surgeon who examined the wounded man on yesterday says he was shot with sixteen arrows in the back and two in front; that he found arrows upon the ground, and that the trail indicated the number of Indians as unusually large. Several Indians from Ildefonso came to me yesterday, also, saying the Navajoes were impudent, troublesome, and dangerous, and that they were in every nook and corner of the country.

A few moments since, the governor and others of Santa Domingo, thirty-one miles west of Santa Fe, came to give me similar intelligence. One of the owners of Bent’s Fort has removed all property from it, and caused the fort to be burnt. Mr. St. Vrain, long a citizen here, every way reliable and intelligent, says a worse state of things has not existed in this country since he has been an inhabitant of it. This fact is sustained by Mr. Folger and others—among them Mr. Smith, who will be in Washington at an early day, as the delegate of a convention assembled here on the 24th of last month, to consider of the public good.

The number of discontented Indians in this Territory is not small; and I regret to add, they are not the only evil people in it.

This whole country requires a thorough purging, which can be accomplished only by a thorough exploration of every hole and corner in it. The entire country should be immediately examined and surveyed, and military roads should be opened, and posts and depots established.

This policy would render it absolutely necessary to send out one or two additional regiments, (mounted) as the surest and only plan of economizing in this branch of the public service; and with this branch, should one or more additional regiments be raised, I should be pleased to be associated, as I have written to you and to the Secretary of War heretofore.

Governor Washington left for Taos on yesterday morning, to be absent for a few days only. I am arranging to leave for Jemez on to-morrow, where, it is understood, a number of the chief officials of several pueblos are to be on the 8th of the present month.

Colonel Monroe has not arrived. No report of troops approaching from the States, and we are yet without a mail.

I am your obedient servant,

James S. Calhoun, Indian Agent, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Commissioner, &c., Washington City

Camp and Travel in Colorado^[9]

There along the river banks are the stamping grounds of Colonel Bent, and some miles above Lyon are the ruins of Bent’s Old Fort, while several miles below it stands Bent’s Fort, a massive structure of masonry built on a solid bed of stone, under one-third of which flows the current of the Arkansas. This fort was probably built for Indian business, and though we could see no present or past need of it, knowing that Indian tribes have no very powerful bombarding batteries, its walls, we were told, were broad enough for our teams to drive around on, and fifteen to twenty feet in height. Its portholes and towers gave the fort a threatening look, as seen from any point for miles away upon the plains. Within its walls were the conveniences of barracks and stables, while but a few rods north, at the foot of a hill, lay a little town of barracks that was used by the garrison in times of peace. This was unoccupied, while there was only a poor Mexican family in possession of the fort itself.

[1] “Editor’s Drawer, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Harper & Brothers, New York, January 1869

[2] Burdett, Charles, “Life of Kit Carson: the great western hunter and guide. Comprising wild and romantic exploits as a hunter and trapper in the Rocky Mountains; thrilling adventures and hairbreadth escapes among the Indians and Mexicans; his daring and invaluable services as a guide to scouting and other parties, etc., etc. With an account of various government expeditions to the far West.”, Philadelphia,: J. E. Potter and company, 1869

[3] Frémont, John Charles, “The life of Col. John Charles Fremont, and his narrative of explorations and adventures, in Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon and California,” New York, Auburn: Miller, Orton & Mulligan, 1856.

[4] Cooke, Philip St. George; Captain of U. S. Dragoons, “Scenes Beyond the Western Border”, Southern Literary Messenger, Aug 1853

[5] Mansfield, Edward D.,  “The Mexican war: a history of its origin, and a detailed account of the victories which terminated in the surrender of the capital; with the official despatches of the generals. To which is added, the treaty of peace, and valuable tables of the strength and losses of the United States Army” New York, A.S. Barnes & Co., 1860

[6] Watson, Henry Clay, “History of the United States of America, from the discovery to the present time.” Philadelphia,: Thomas, Cowperthwait & co., 1854

[7] Carvalho, S. N, [artist to the expedition] ” Incidents of travel and adventure in the far West: with Col Fremont’s last expedition across the Rocky Mountains: including three months’ residence in Utah, and a perilous trip across the great American desert to the Pacific.” New York, Derby & Jackson, 1859

[8] Taylor, Zachary, “California and Mexico, Message from The President of the United States, Transmitting Information in answer to a resolution of the House of the 31^st of December, 1849, on the subject of California and New Mexico.”, January 24, 1850

[9] Mariager, Dagmar, “Camp and Travel in Colorado”, Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, May 1890

Low water level at Sandy Cove, Canton Lake, Oklahoma – Labor Day, 2011.

(more in a couple of days)   

We missed the big dust storm in Lubbock, Texas, on Monday by just a couple of hours. Even though we fought the wind all day, we managed to make it past Lubbock before the storm hit.

We were on the homeward leg of a 6 week trip and had planned to go further south, crossing Texas below Dallas and Fort Worth.  Saturday and Sunday nights, we had been camped near Carlsbad, New Mexico.  We were able to get online Sunday night, barely, and checked the weather forecast for where we were thinking of going – wind and blowing dust, with temperatures in the mid to high 90s.  The forecast for the Lubbock area was cooler and windy, but blowing dust was not mentioned. After talking it over for a bit, we decided to head north instead of east.

I did get a some video from our windy day’s trip and produced a short YouTube video.

On this trip, I decided that I was not going to try to keep up with a travel blog.  My intent was to keep a written journal and take lots of photos and video and to incorporate the journal and images into blog posts after we got home.  I was only partially successful.

While I did take lots of photographs and videos, the written journal fell by the wayside after only a few days.

I did read quite a few books over the last six weeks, though.

We learned several years ago that it was advisable to make reservations in advance when planning to camp in popular national parks.  This year we made reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park (5 nights), Arches National Park (3 nights) and Grand Canyon National Park (3 nights north rim and 3 nights south rim).

We saw our first snow of the trip on September 15 when we were camped at Rocky Mountain National Park.  It had been kind of cloudy and rainy on the 14th.  We had driven across the park over Trail Ridge Road and had lunch and did a little shopping in Grand Lake.  On the way back, we ran into very heavy fog.  Around 3 pm, we stopped at the Trail Ridge Gift Store – next to the Alpine Visitor Center at 12,000 feet – for a coffee break.  Unfortunately, it had already closed and, where it had been in the 60s in Grand Lake, the temperature was 35°F.  We made it down in plenty of time, but, just a few hours later, Trail Ridge Road was closed due to snow.

Yesterday (Wednesday, October 14) morning I got online to check the weather. We were camped at Grand Canyon North Rim and were planning to travel today to the South Rim today. Unfortunately, the forecast was for rain/snow mix turning to snow with possible 1 to 2 inch accumulations. I knew that that wouldn’t be bad if that’s all that it did. However the forecast for today was for more precipitation and wind. With driving a somewhat boxy motorhome and towing a car, the overall forecast was too iffy, so we canceled our reservation at South Rim and left North Rim yesterday — the drive was still a fight with the wind, but there was no precipitation.

We heard on the evening news earlier that Jacob Lake, at beginning of  the road to North Rim, got 3 inches of snow.  Just as I thought, there was little or no snow sticking to the roads, but I’ve heard of too many surprise significant mountain snow accumulations to risk it with our motorhome.

We’re camped 50 miles south of South Rim and will go to the canyon tomorrow and the next day — it’s going to be cold and bit of a drive, but that’s okay.

The northeast part of the park has few of the thermal features so prevalent in the rest of the park.  This section is more mountainous than some of the other parts of the brush, with striking vistas of a wilderness of high peaks and deep valleys. Vegetation ranges from grasses and sagebrush to aspens and pines.  All of the wildlife found in other parts of the park may also be seen here.

Our route for this video is shown in darker red on the map.  The dotted line represents a one-way dirt road – well maintained, and a favorite of ours – that crosses the Blacktail Deer Plateau.

With each visit we generally make the whole Grand Loop Road. Doing the whole loop all at once makes for a long day – and it truly is impossible to see everything in a single day.

If you’re a camper, my recommendation would be to stay at either Madison Campground or Canyon Village Campground.  These are in the middle part of the long sides of the Grand Loop Road.  This will eliminate a lot of repetitive travel over the same areas.  In 2011, we stayed at Fishing Bridge for a week.  It was plenty of time to see everything.  However, we spent a lot of time just in transit, much of it in the Hayden Valley or nearby, caught up in excruciatingly slow traffic, generally caused by buffalo – or people slowing down or stopping to see the buffalo.

If you want to stay in the park, whether you are camping or staying a lodge, make reservations very early.  The reason we ended up at Fishing Bridge instead of one of our preferred campgrounds was that we didn’t plan far enough in advance.  Six months in advance may not bee soon enough.

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Yellowstone References and Resources:

Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources.  I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.

• National Park Service
• Wikipedia
• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• National Geographic
• New York Times Travel Guide
• Wikitravel
• Gorp
• PBS

During our 2007 Yellowstone visit, we made it to three thermal areas on mornings that were quite cool – Artists Point Pots, Norton Geyser Basin, and Mammoth Hot Springs.  Cool mornings make for interesting photographs in thermal areas.

At Norton Geyser Basin, I was quite pleased with all of the wonderful photo opportunities that I had had during our walk.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until we had made it all the way back to the parking lot when I noticed the message on the LCD screen, “No card in the camera.”  This was worse than the old SLR cameras where you would discover after thinking you had shot a roll of film, only to discover that the film had not been engaged on the takeup spool properly and not a frame of film had been exposed.  In the case of film, the pictures that were “lost” would be limited by the number of photos expected for a roll – for, me generally 24 or 36.  Digital media, on the other hand, is limited by the capacity of the storage device, in this case an SD card.  I probably had “snapped” 100 to 200 images that never got saved, because I had left the card in the computer.

I haven’t made that mistake since then.  The other way that I have lost opportunities for pictures is when I forget to charge the camera’s battery.  Now, with my new camera, I have a spare battery that is always charged before we set out.  It certainly has been beneficial already, when, on at least two occasions, the battery in the camera ran out of juice when we were out doing, seeing, and picture taking.

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Yellowstone References and Resources:

Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources.  I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.

• National Park Service
• Wikipedia
• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• National Geographic
• New York Times Travel Guide
• Wikitravel
• Gorp
• PBS

We probably visited the Old Faithful part of the park more often this trip than any place else.  We saw Old Faithful erupt at least four times that I can think of.  We also made dinner reservations for one evening.  Another day we hiked up to an overlook where you can view the eruption.  Unfortunately the eruption occurred before we got all the way to the overlook, but we were able to get a good view of it.

Old Faithful is, without a doubt, the most popular location in the park.

The Old Faithful Inn is a fascinating hotel over a hundred years old.  We stayed there one time back in the late 70s in the fall.

Reservations for lodging and camping – for those campgrounds where  reservations can be made – should be made as far as possible in advance.  In 2011, we waited too long to decide on our travel plans and campsites were not available in the campgrounds we preferred.  We had to settle for something else.

Yellowstone References and Resources:

Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources.  I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.

• National Park Service
• Wikipedia
• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• National Geographic
• New York Times Travel Guide
• Wikitravel
• Gorp
• PBS

Since we were camped near West Yellowstone, we traversed this part of the park several times.  There are a lot of thermal features here, but we didn’t make it to all of them.

Some of the more popular destinations in the park get very crowded as the day goes by, even in September when the season is starting to wind down.  One secret to getting in at those places without having to fight traffic and/or search for a parking spot is to get there early.  It seems as though a lot a folks are late risers when on vacation – or they are just taking their time.

In Yellowstone, like many other places, early morning is a good time for photos, especially on chilly mornings in areas that abound in thermal features.

Yellowstone References and Resources:

Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources.  I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.

• National Park Service
• Wikipedia
• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• National Geographic
• New York Times Travel Guide
• Wikitravel
• Gorp
• PBS

Yesterday we had a bit of wind and rain.  After the rain had passed, Karen spotted a rainbow through the skylight of the camper and I walked out to the highway to get to an open area where I could see it without trees, structures, or vehicles in the way.  I ended up on the edge of the median of the southbound lane of US 50.  The image is a composite of three photographs.

Nature is so amazing!

We’re traveling again.  My contact job ended about 2 1/2 weeks ago and we left home 2 weeks ago.  This time, I decided I was not going to try to keep up with the trip on a day to day basis.  Each time I’ve done that, I got behind and ended up skipping some days.

I’ve taken a lot of pictures and video, including several fairly decent time-lapse sequences.  Post processing is complete for about the first day and a half of our trip.  I’ll be posting about the trip in more detail when we get back home and I’ll be doing it day-by-day to get the whole trip published in sequence.

We planned to be away from the internet quite a bit this trip.  I pre-scheduled the videos that have been posted every three days or so through to the end of the trip.  Karen is posting pretty much as we go on her blog, but she is also pre-posting for some of the times that we will be away from the internet.

Most of the time when we have internet access, we are camped in an RV park that has wireless and is near or in a town, like Grand Junction, Colorado, where we are now.

During our visit to Yellowstone National Park in 2007, we stayed in a campground near West Yellowstone, Montana, so, each day, no matter where we were going in the park, we traveled along the Madison River on our way in and, again, on our way back to the camper.  Sometimes it was clear, sometimes, cloudy, but always a beautiful drive.  One morning, the day I photographed the mists over the river, the temperature was several degrees below freezing – winter was just a few weeks around the corner.

The rest of the video slideshows from Yellowstone 2007 are arranged by regions of the park and will be posted here every three days  over the next three weeks, followed by those from Grand Teton National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Arches National Park.

Yellowstone National Park has long been a favorite of ours.  I first visited in 1963, back when bears were a very common sight.  Our first visits there as a family came in our second year of marriage, tent camping with a six month old with temperatures falling into the mid 30s at night.  When we lived in Idaho from 1977 to 1980, we visited many times and have been back numerous times since we moved to Arkansas.  We also spent a week in the park in 2010.

Yellowstone References and Resources:

Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources.  I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.

• National Park Service
• Wikipedia
• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• National Geographic
• New York Times Travel Guide
• Wikitravel
• Gorp
• PBS

While in Montana in September 2007, we had plans to stop in Lewistown to get set up with a satellite internet system.  The installer, Ron, had an extra RV spot at his home for friends, complete with hookups and invited us to stay there for a few days.  The satellite system was a new model and there were a few wrinkles in getting it set up right.

Ron was a member of an on-line RV forum I participated in.  Retired, Ron did satellite system installs for other forum members at one price no matter how long it took.

While there, we shared supper with Ron and his wife several times in their house and once at the Black Bull Saloon and Steakhouse in Hobson.  We also took in the 2007 Lewistown Chokecherry Festival and the What the Hay “hay art” contest that stretched over 21 miles in Judith Basin County between the towns of Hobson and Windham.  As, well they took us on a couple of other drives out into the Montana countryside.

“What the Hay” is now also called  the “Montana Bale Trail.”

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Lewistown, Chokecherry Festival, and Montana Bale Trail information:

• Lewistown Chamber of Commerce
• Lewistown Chokecherry Festival
• Lewistown in Wikipedia
• Montana’s Russell Country
• Bureau of Land Management
• Montana Bale Trail